Three Sheets to the Wind: One Mans Journey for the Meaning of Beer: Pete Brown

I enjoyed reading Pete Brown's "Man Walks into a Pub" so much that I had to read his follow up book "Three Sheets to the Wind," but I had a difficult time finding it in Canada. Luckily, Chapters stocked up just before Christmas and I grabbed one of only three on the shelf.

I reviewed "Man Walks into a Pub" back on September 17th and found it packed full of useful information and written with Brown's witty British humour. "Three Sheets to the Wind" was no different. It was done in a totally different manner then the first book as it has more to do with travel and less to do with pubs.

Brown decided after attending a beer conference with a friend that he should set out to explore other beer loving countries and that's exactly what he did. Germany, Japan, Czech Republic, Australia, United States, Barcelona, Ireland and London where some of the places Brown visited. He went to the beer gardens, grand beer festivals, small pubs and breweries. He visited over 400 pubs during his year of travels and came to appreciate each and every one.

It wouldn't be a real 'Brown' book if he didn't delve into the pub atmosphere. One thing he pointed out that I had never thought of before was bouncers at the front door of pubs. When does a pub lose it's status of a pub and gain bar status? This would be the first step in my opinion, when you have bouncers letting you in for a pint.

Brown also drinks in Denmark with another beer writer/historian who is quoted as saying, "In Denmark the pub is an extra living room, like you have in England. If someone doesn't come in for three days you're wondering where he is. Is he sick? Danish pub life is very close to Cheers. Everyone knows your name. You want to be the first one in the pub, because everyone buys you a drink when they arrive." Nicely put. I think you can confidently say that some Ontario pubs have gained that level of hospitality and good for them, these are the ones that survive.

The book was great and very hard to put down. As for Brown - What a dream job. Take a year off, tour the world, taste hundreds of different styles of beer and write about your experiences. I am lucky if I get out of the city for a weekend to visit a new pub or experience a brewery tour. It was released 2006 so it's not the newest book on the block, but definitely worth your money.